How to Break the Cycle of Toxic Workplace Culture
How to Break the Cycle of Toxic Workplace Culture
The Illusion of a Toxic Culture
When organisations label their culture as "toxic," they often externalise the problem—it’s treated as if the toxicity is an external force that’s seeped into the environment. But culture isn’t external. It’s created by the people within it. A toxic culture doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it’s the result of unresolved reactions within the minds and bodies of the individuals who shape it.
Toxicity is Rooted in Sensations
Toxic behaviour in organisations is often the outward manifestation of unobserved sensations within individuals. When people feel unvalued, threatened, or out of control, they are experiencing a sensation. They then react to that sensation—often defensively, aggressively, or dismissively. These reactions to their internal sensations perpetuate cycles of negativity, creating what we label as "toxic culture."
Here’s the key: The root to correcting toxicity lies not in company policies but in individuals’ sensations. My Mindset Mastery methodology teaches individuals to deactivate these sensations, breaking the cycle of toxicity before it begins.
Why Traditional Fixes Don’t Work
Leadership often turns to quick fixes for toxic cultures: new policies, restructuring, or workshops on "how to be nice." While well-intentioned, these measures fail to address the root cause—the unresolved sensations within individuals. Without this deeper work, the same issues resurface, regardless of how many policies are rewritten.
The Role of the Sensory-Body Feedback Loop
The Sensory-Body Feedback Loop provides a clear framework for understanding how toxicity originates:
1. Cognising: A person senses a perceived threat (e.g., critical feedback or exclusion).
2. Recognising: The brain interprets the input, and matches it with past experiences.
3. Assessing: The brain categorises the sensory input as undesirable, and prepares to advise the body of what is happening.
4. Sensation: the Brain communicates with the body through a sensation (e.g., tension, anger, or fear).
5. Reaction: The body takes action to avoid or stop the sensation. This could include attacking, withdrawing, complaining etc
How to Break the Toxicity Cycle
1. Observe Sensations Without Reacting: Teach individuals to notice their bodily sensations (e.g., tightness in the chest, heat in the face) and observe them without acting on them. This interrupts the cycle before it reaches the reaction stage.
2. Encourage Self-Reflection: Ask team members to explore the stories they tell themselves about situations. Are they assigning blame or jumping to conclusions?
3. Foster Open Conversations: Once individuals have deactivated their reactive loops, they can approach conflicts with curiosity and openness, rather than defensiveness or hostility.
The Ripple Effect of Deactivating Toxicity
When individuals begin to deactivate their reactions to sensations, the impact on culture is profound:
More Constructive Feedback: Feedback is given and received with clarity and without defensiveness.
Collaborative Problem-Solving: Teams work together to solve issues, rather than avoiding each other to avoid the sensations they experience
Psychological Safety: People feel safe to speak up, take risks, and admit mistakes without fear of how they will feel when they speak up.
What’s next
If your organisation is struggling with toxicity, the answer isn’t a new policy—it’s a new mindset. The Mindset Mastery methodology empowers individuals to break the cycles of negativity that create toxic cultures. Let’s talk about how we can help your team transform.
